The Wolf Within
by BekahAM
Summary: Hermione unveils her new secret to the only person who can truly help her, just after the final battle at Hogwarts. What will happen when they discover something even greater? Can they both help each other recover? Minor Ron bashing.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to it, unfortunately.**

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Hermione took a deep breath as she stood outside in the rain by herself in front of Shell Cottage. It was not even two weeks after the Battle of Hogwarts, and she needed to find someone to help her with her new condition. Bill had been staying at Shell Cottage alone since Fleur had decided to divorce him only a couple months after being married. He hadn't had lots of contact with the family since then, but Hermione knew he could help.

He raised her hand and quickly knocked on the door, still getting drenched in the cold rain, but she had stopped caring long before.

The door opened swiftly and Bill took one look at the soaked witch and quickly ushered her inside, running to grab a towel for her.

"Hermione, what are you doing here? What's wrong?" Bill asked as soon as he wrapped the towel around her tightly.

"I couldn't be there anymore... I just, I needed someone who could help me." Hermione said, the reality of her situation dawning on her again as she felt tears stinging her eyes.

"Help with what, darling, you have to tell me or I can't help." Bill said, kneeling so that he was at her height as she sat on the stool in front of him.

She couldn't find the words, so she pulled her wet hair away from her neck and nudged her shirt downwards, where he saw the thick claw marks marring her skin, mirroring the ones he had on his face, a silvery bite mark in the middle of them.

"When?" He asked quickly, trying to assess the situation.

"The final battle... Greyback." She said with tears rolling down her cheeks. Bill nodded and pulled the young witch into him, hugging her tightly.

"Does anyone else know?" He asked her, pulling away to see her face.

"No, I tried to heal the wounds the best I could by myself, but I didn't tell anyone. I don't want them to know. I was getting antsy at the Burrow, I know the full moon is tomorrow. I can't seem to sit still, it's like an anxious feeling. Everyone was irritating me, and I almost blasted Ron through a wall because he tried to force himself on me." Hermione said before realizing just how much she had told him.

Bill growled ferally. "Ron tried to force himself on you?!" He said in a very deep voice.

"He tried, but didn't succeed. Luckily my wandless/wordless magic is pretty well developed." Hermione told him and he paced back and forth in the kitchen. "Can you- can you help me?" He immediately stopped pacing and looked back at the terrified witch sitting in front of him.

"Of course, Hermione. Of course, I'll help you. Right now I would just like to go to the Burrow and rip my youngest brother limb from limb." Bill said growling the last bit of it. She could tell he was fighting his wolf.

"No! Please, Bill, they don't know where I am right now and I'd like to keep it that way. Plus, I've already punished him plenty." Hermione said, standing up to stop him from going to the fireplace to floo. As soon as her hand touched Bill's arm, a shock went through them both and his eyes, flickering with yellow, focused on hers. "Please."

"Okay." He conceded, nodding his head. He turned his focus back on the fact that Hermione was still soaking wet and shivering. "Come, let me get you some dry clothes while you take a shower, then I will finish healing you."

Hermione nodded, following him up the stairs. He led her to the master bathroom and turned on the shower for her, before handing her a towel and leaving her to her privacy. About five minutes into her shower, Hermione screamed.

Bill ran into the bathroom after hearing her scream to check on her. "Hermione, what happened?" He asked before just yanking the curtain open, no matter how much his wolf was telling him to.

"I just- I have a few more wounds than I thought, and I can't quite lift my arms, and I almost lost my balance a few moments ago." Hermione said, sounding weaker than he'd ever heard her.

"Hermione, I'm going to get in there with you. Don't worry, I'll keep some of my clothes on, I'm just going to help you finish getting clean and see what all I need to heal, okay?" He told her.

"That's- that's fine." She said, unsure. He took his clothes off, down to his boxers and undershirt, and opened the curtain to climb into the shower. As soon as he did, he could see her shielding her breasts from him, but the rest of her body looked as if she had been beaten with a beater's bat. She had large bruises on her legs, up her back, on her stomach. What stood out the most, beside her obvious werewolf attack, were the ugly purple handprints on each of her upper arms. They were obviously fresh, unlike the others which were not yet two weeks old now.

Hermione cried openly now, knowing that someone else knew what she was going through. He walked closer to her, now under the spray of the shower and pulled her into his chest, running his fingers through her hair under the water to get the tangles out. She held onto him tightly, afraid she would fall if she let go. They didn't speak a word as he gently washed her hair, washed out her wound, and made sure that she was clean. After turning off the shower, he picked her up, bridal style, wrapping a towel around her before gently laying her down on his bed.

He quickly dried himself off and changed his clothes before walking over to the bed with a small pile of clothing, sitting it next to her. She was still crying as he carefully lifted her arm to assess the large handprint bruises. He growled under his breath before reaching into his drawer and pulling out a jar of Fred and George's bruise vanishing paste. It might be disgusting, but it did the job.

"Hermione, I am so sorry for all that has happened to you, but I promise I will help you in any way I can. I'm going to heal your wounds and by the time I'm done, you'll be covered in this lovely concoction, and it will hurt, but you are a strong woman. For me to do this, I'll have to take your towel off, is that alright?" He asked cautiously.

"I trust you." Was all she said before he carefully unwrapped her from her towel. He worked diligently, covering her in the thick yellow paste before setting to work on her neck. He used dittany and healing charms to close the wounds, however they both knew the scars would never fade.

While working on determining if she needed any other treatment, he had found Bellatrix's handiwork on her forearm.

"When did this happen?" He asked her, having not seen it before.

"When we were captured at Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix..." Only Harry and Ron knew of her torture, but she trusted Bill. "Bellatrix had put Harry and Ron in the cellar and said she wanted to have a chat with me. I lost count of how many times she used Crucio, then she used a cursed dagger and wrote this into my arm." She explained, tears falling freely as she remembered it all.

"Why didn't you say anything when you were here afterwards? I could have helped the after effects of the cruciatus, and helped with this." Bill said and Hermione looked up at him.

"I had to be strong. We needed to get into Gringotts, so we had no time for me to ask for help or heal properly. What does it matter, it's over now. Bellatrix is dead." Hermione told him and he was trying to keep himself contained, listening to her.

"It does matter, Hermione, because you never got to heal properly. I assume that you will be staying with me for a while so that I can help you with being a demi-wolf, so I will do my best in the time you are here to help you heal properly." Bill said before standing up and pulling her to a standing position with him, as he helped her get the clothes on.

They were quite a bit baggy on her, considering he was much taller than her, but they were clothes. He quickly transfigured them into night clothes. He would figure out a way of getting her some clothes of her own tomorrow.

"Are you sure you don't mind me being here?" Hermione asked him seriously as he helped her back into the bed, covering her with the blanket. He moved a piece of hair out of her face and smiled gently at her.

"I'm sure, and besides, I have been quite lonely, so maybe this will do us both some good." Bill told her before standing up and grabbing a blanket from the closet.

"Now try to get some sleep, love."

He turned to leave the room and she spoke up, "Bill?" He turned back to look at her, seeing her frightened eyes looking at him. "Stay?"

He looked as if he were having an internal debate with himself before he nodded and put the extra blanket away. She lifted the other side of the blanket to let him in next to her and she sighed. She wasn't used to being afraid. She was a Gryffindor for crying out loud.

She felt much more safe now that he was laying beside her and she found herself closing her eyes easily. She fell asleep quickly, but it didn't last. Just as every other night, she found herself drowning in her nightmares.

"No! I swear, we didn't steal it! It's a fake! We didn't take anything!" She yelled out in her sleep, waking Bill immediately. He quickly shook her to wake her up.

"Hermione, wake up, it's just a nightmare." He told her, watching as she opened her eyes and immediately relaxed as she saw him. Tears were still rolling down her cheeks as she rolled over closer to Bill.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Hermione told him, wiping her eyes.

"Remember what I told you, Mia, I am going to help you, and that means through the nightmares, too." He told her, pulling her closer to him. She felt so small compared to Bill. He was much taller than her, but it made her comfortable.

"MIa?" She asked, confused about the nickname he gave her.

"Hermione is too long for me to say when I'm still half asleep." He responded, sleepily.

"I like it." She told him before they both fell back asleep.

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 **So I'm trying something new here with the Hermione/Bill pairing. Let me know what you think! Things will get a little more interesting in the next chapter, so review if you want me to post it! _Tout mon amour - BEX_**


	2. Chapter 2

They both woke at around 5am, Hermione becoming anxious and restless. She looked over to Bill who was opening his eyes as well. She noticed that they flashed gold before turning back to the deep blue they usually were. She had woken as the little spoon while his arm draped over her stomach.

"Good morning, Mia." He told her as he looked down at her.

"Good morning, Bill." She replied. "Thank you for last night."

"No thanks needed. Fancy a run?" He asked her, knowing that she was feeling the same anxiousness as he was because of the upcoming full moon. "You be feeling a bit... energized all day until the full moon tonight. There are other effects that you will have, but we will talk about that more later. Are you feeling alright enough for a run?"

"I think a run would be perfect." She told him. "I feel much better today."

He got ready and transfigured the clothes that Hermione was wearing into clothes suitable for running. Bill's usual moon run was about 10km on the beach, but he knew that would be too much for Hermione. She was still healing, so he didn't push her today like he would in the future.

After their run, they settled in the kitchen as Bill made them both breakfast. He cooked them extremely rare steak, eggs, potatoes, and toast. Hermione looked at the steak apprehensively for a while.

"Close your eyes." Bill told her, seeing her hesitation at eating the steak. She looked at him confused for a second before doing what he told her. She closed her eyes.

It was like a sensory overload as she let her nose explore all the new scents she could smell as a demi-wolf. "All of your senses are heightened, smell the steak, does it smell bad?"

She could smell it and it smelled bloody delicious. She shook her head.

"Your senses are already heightened because of being a wolf, but they are even more heightened because of the full moon tonight. Go ahead and try it." He told her and she opened her eyes. Bill didn't miss the flash of golden eyes as she took the first bite.

Hermione found herself asking for seconds, which she would have felt bad about if Bill wasn't on his 4th plate of food.

"So what's next?" Hermione asked him as she washed their dishes in the sink. She was doing it the muggle way to burn more energy that she seemed to be in abundance of.

"Normally, at this point, I work out for a few hours, then take a shower. After that, I take a dreamless sleep potion (which our blood burns through in about two hours) so that I can be somewhat rested before tonight, because sleep is nearly impossible during the full moon. Even if we don't turn, we still feel the pull." He explained to her.

"Well, why don't you work out, and I'll read." She told him and he smiled and nodded. Hermione went over to the large bookshelf and chose one that was about lycanthropy, hoping to read up more on their condition and what was to come that night.

Bill worked out as Hermione read, and Hermione began making a mental list of things to ask him about when he was done. She didn't want him to change any of his routine because of her.

A few hours went by quicker than Hermione expected and she decided to go take her shower before it was time for Bill to take his.

The shower soothed her already aching muscles, and she felt herself craving that dreamless sleep potion so that she could get some rest. After finishing her shower, Hermione put the transfigured clothes back on, Bill's scent all over them, which immediately calmed her in a strange way.

"I'm just going to take a quick shower, then we will have our nap. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable and I will be in there in a few minutes." Bill told her before stripping his shirt and heading towards the bathroom. Hermione could see the droplets of sweat on his body and his scent almost overwhelmed her, in a good way. It was almost intoxicating, and Hermione felt herself wanting more of it. Almost instinctually, Hermione walked over and picked up the shirt he'd been wearing, and held it while climbing into the bed.

Just as Bill said, he was out within a few minutes and found Hermione clutching his shirt, her eyes golden as she just stared in front of her, snapping up to see him as he walked in. As he saw the shirt, she immediately dropped it, her eyes turning back to their normal brown.

"I'm- I don't- I'm not sure what came over me." Hermione mentioned, looking down at the shirt before seeing him, only clad in shorts, walking over to the bed to sit down in front of her.

"It's getting close to the full moon, Mia. Your wolf is coming out, and she has a way of comforting herself. It will get worse as the night goes on. Both of our wolves will come out tonight, and I'm not exactly sure what will happen, but we will deal with it. Apparently your wolf thinks my scent is comforting." He said, winking at her before grabbing two potion vials out of his drawer and handed her one. "We will have a little more time to talk when we wake up."

She took the vial and drank it in one gulp, the tasteless potion sliding down her throat as she laid back on her pillow, which also smelled of Bill, she noticed. Of course, everything here would, but some items did more than others. Needing to be closer to the intoxicating scent, she slid closer to him and he put his arm out so that she could snuggle into his side.

Unbeknownst to her, he was feeling the same with her scent. He'd never smelled such an intoxicating scent before, and he'd been a demi-wolf for over a year now.

He felt the same need to have her close, and he felt his wolf smirk as he thought of her need to be near him.

The potion kicked in within minutes and before they knew it, it was about 2 and a half hours later as they woke.

Hermione was nearly all of the way on top of Bill as they woke, and she heard him growl as she moved off of him. He immediately pulled her back on him and breathed in her scent. His eyes opened and flashed gold before he shook his head and they turned back to the ocean blue.

"Who's wolf likes who's scent now?" Hermione asked him, laughing as she sat up.

"I never said mine didn't, in fact, that brings us to what we need to discuss for tonight." He told her, sitting up now too. He growled again because she was now too far away and pulled her onto his lap, fixing the issue.

"I have a few questions from what I read as well." Hermione said as she turned in his lap to face him, waiting for him to continue.

"Our wolves have seemed to taken quite a liking to each other, which is new for me. My wolf didn't like Fleur, I had... difficulties on full moons while I was with her.

She eventually just left during the full moon. Things will happen tonight, Mia, I won't lie to you. Our wolves will be in control, and they are passionate creatures." He explained to her and she nodded her head.

"I figured that would happen. I read quite a bit about what to expect, and you're right, with how are senses are reacting to each other, it's bound to happen." Hermione told him.

"So you are okay with that?" Bill asked her nervously.

"Surprisingly I am. I am much more comfortable with you than I expected, and I trust you." Hermione told him and he raised his eyebrows.

"Have you ever-?" Bill began.

"No." Hermione replied quickly and nervously.

"Mia, it's nothing to be ashamed of, but I believe that we need to get the initial encounter over before the moon rises. I'd rather your first time be gentle, and not...

well, let's just say that wolves can be a bit animalistic." He told her honestly, leaning down to capture her lips with his.

About 45 mins later, they both laid in a tangled mess of limbs in the bed, sweat gleaming off the both of them. To Hermione's surprise, it had only hurt for a fraction of a second before it started feeling amazing, and Bill had truly made it a memorable experience for her. She was thankful that they had gotten past that first step before the full moon. Both of their wolves had already made an appearance during the act and their eyes had gone completely black in desire.

It was almost dark outside and they could both feel the full moon rising.

"Bill?" Hermione asked, turning over in his arms to see him. His eyes turned from gold to black for a minute, then changed back to blue.

"Yes, love?" He responded, his voice deeper and more husky than normal.

"Thank you," She began, smiling up at him, "for making that so perfect. And thank you for considering my comfort before our wolves took over." She said before leaning up to kiss him softly.

"It was truly my pleasure, Mia. I think that was just a small taste of what will be in store for tonight. My wolf is already getting restless with you here laying in my arms." Bill told her as he ran his finger down her cheek to her neck and down her collarbone.

"I'm going to be very sore tomorrow, wont I?" Hermione asked and Bill chuckled deeply.

"Oh yes, darling." He told her before kissing her passionately.

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 **Merry Christmas! Let me know what you think!**


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